Week 13 Rankings (2017): Top 50 Wide Receivers

by Will Overton

It’s Week 13, and for many fantasy football players this is the last week before playoffs start up. In other words this is crunch time and there is no room for error. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of Top 50 wide outs for this week and try to help bring some clarity to the field:

Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati

Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota

Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Green Bay

Keenan Allen – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cleveland

Brandin Cooks – New England Patriots @ Buffalo

Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings @ Atlanta

A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh

DeAndre Hopkins – Houston Texans @ Tennessee

Doug Baldwin – Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia

Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins vs. Denver

Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina

Devin Funchess – Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans

Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings @ Atlanta

DaVante Adams – Green Bay Packers vs. Tampa Bay

Robby Anderson – New York Jets vs. Kansas City

Tyreek Hill – Kansas City Chiefs @ NY Jets

Alshon Jeffrey – Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle

Jamison Crowder – Washington Redskins @ Dallas

Demaryius Thomas – Denver Broncos @ Miami

Golden Tate – Detroit Lions @ Baltimore

Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals vs. LA Rams

Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington

Rishard Matthews – Tennessee Titans vs. Houston

JuJu Smith-Schuster – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati

Marvin Jones – Detroit Lions @ Baltimore

Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona

Sterling Shepherd – New York Giants @ Oakland

Emmanuel Sanders – Denver Broncos @ Miami

T.Y. Hilton – Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville

DeSean Jackson – Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Green Bay

Mohamed Sanu – Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota

Corey Coleman – Cleveland Browns @ LA Chargers

Josh Doctson – Washington Redskins @ Dallas

Mike Wallace – Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit

DaVante Parker – Miami Dolphins vs. Denver

Marquise Lee – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis

Jeremy Maclin – Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit

Ted Ginn Jr – New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina

Marquise Goodwin – San Francisco 49ers @ Chicago

Dede Westbrook – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis

Paul Richardson – Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia

Josh Gordon – Cleveland Browns @ LA Chargers

Sammy Watkins – Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona

Corey Davis – Tennessee Titans vs. Houston

Zay Jones – Buffalo Bills vs. New England

Kenny Stills – Miami Dolphins vs. Denver

Jermaine Kearse – New York Jets vs. Kansas City

Dontrelle Inman – Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco

Nelson Agholor – Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle

Tyrell Williams – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cleveland

Thoughts:

Is there anyone outside of Antonio Brown who has been as consistently solid as Adam Thielen this season? Somehow he gets open all the time and is racking up the stats. Thielen has 89 yards or better in five of his last six games and has at least five catches in every game of the season. The only flaw had been his inability to find the end zone, but he scored in three straight weeks before breaking the streak in Week 12. Thielen is so consistently great right now you can’t not have him in the Top 10.

Robby Anderson used to be an all or nothing guy who you felt like you were gambling by using every week. He’s come a long way from that and has now scored 6 TD in his last five games. Anderson still doesn’t rack up the catches, but he is racking up the yards and he’s averaging 17.4 YPC so far this season. Week 12 was his biggest game, as he had 10 targets and 146 yards. Josh McCown is only getting more comfortable with Anderson and we could be seeing a star emerge.

It took him a while to get things rolling this season, but Jamison Crowder is finally starting to look like the Top 20 WR that some were pegging him to be before the season. For the last four weeks he has averaged 6.8 catches on 10.5 targets and 103 yards. Crowder also finally found the end zone last week against the New York Giants, whose secondary isn’t as bad as some suspect. He is finally healthy and on the same page with Kirk Cousins and the stats are matching up. You can’t keep Crowder out of your lineup.

With Robert Woods out we knew someone would step up for the Rams, but it was both Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins last week. Kupp had the eight catches on 11 targets while Watkins had the TD. You’ll see a noticeable difference between the two this week though. I think Kupp is the more consistent player while Watkins will be TD dependent. This week the Rams also the Cardinals, which means Patrick Peterson who will almost certainly be locked onto Watkins. Meanwhile, every other receiver who isn’t covered by Peterson this season is tearing the Cardinals up and that means good things for Kupp.

In two games since returning from injury Corey Coleman has been the favored target of Deshone Kizer in Cleveland. Coleman has been targeted 18 times in the last two games, and while he has only caught nine of those passes the targets are a good sign. You do have to wonder how the return of Josh Gordon will impact things as Hue Jackson has already made it clear he wants Gordon involved. Both plays are upside plays with risk.

The Detroit Lions have been giving up plenty of points to opposing QB’s and WR’s lately. It’s hard to imagine the Baltimore Ravens passing attack blowing up, but they should at least be better this week. Typically I have Jeremy Maclin higher in my rankings, but Maclin is probably drawing coverage from Darius Slay and that makes Mike Wallace the better play. Wallace has also been the guy getting into the end zone, with two scores in his last three games.

Hey Roto,
I’m currently 6-6 in standings on my Fantasy Team. However, the 4th seed in my league is also 6-6, so these next few games are absolutely vital for me in the long run, if I want to jump on as a playoff contender.
My current lineup sits like this;
QB: Jared Goff
RB1: Marshawn Lynch
RB2: Samaje Perine
WR1:Juju Smith-Schuster
WR2: Robby Anderson
TE: Jimmy Graham
FLEX: Josh Gordon
D/ST: Chargers
Kicker: Kai Forbath

I’m another one with JG on my roster, but agree with you that this isn’t the week to start him (starting Chargers defense as well), but with R Wilson as my QB, I’m a bit concerned about starting Baldwin against the Eagles, though Wilson can do magic, but he might spread the ball around as well.

I’ve got M Evans starting, so considering the Titans defense, should I risk starting Dede instead? I also have JJ-SS, but the Bengals at home will be tough as they fight for a playoff spot.

Mixon ran well on the few carries he had the last time they met, so should I consider him? I was excited about starting J Williams, but now it sounds like AJ will be back; I’ve got C Hyde and Collins as well.

Sorry for two questions; the final game of our season with another team and mine tied for first place, so a big game. Anyway, if you have time, it would be great to get your perspective, especially with regards to Dede. I think there is a defensive back out for the Titans as well, but then M Lee won’t have Peterson shadowing him this week, but Bortles seems to like throwing to Westbrook, even before last week?

Thank you very much! Yes, WR and not flex, but I’ll go with Baldwin as you suggest; a higher floor, then hope that Evans gets a lot of opportunities, but can Hundley play well again to see these two offenses scoring a lot of points. I guess Dede is enticing for a possible high ceiling, but maybe the same for Baldwin in a high scoring game? Can’t say he is due, given his last two games, the eagles D is good, though I think a bit weak in the middle so Baldwin could get up to 90 yards, but no TDs?

Guess if I didn’t have Evans starting, I might take a chance with Dede, but you’re right about the risk, so Baldwin a safer play.

Thanks as well for the Mixon question; crossed my mind as well that J Williams played fairly well against the Steelers in their stadium; I’d hope that Dalton would throw more to Mixon as we saw what JW did with that one pass for the TD. Guess I like Collins more than Hyde at Chicago, but need to think about it and check on weather forecasts in Baltimore and Chicago.

Sorry to bother, but if you have the time, I see that A Brown didn’t practice today, so if he is out, should I consider JJ-SS instead of Baldwin, though Rothesb worries me at Cincinnati? M Bryant might play a bigger role, but he would stay on my bench.

Anyway, I asked too many questions already so fine if you give this one a pass. At least I have some time as this is a late Sunday game and Baldwin plays on Monday. Guess I still would lean towards Baldwin, then have to assume JJ-SS is healthy as well, but then all that A Brown volume; not sure if Bell can take that many more if they want him healthy for playoffs!

Hi,
OK, thank you very much – I really appreciate your time and feedback, so I’ll stay with Baldwin. Considering the Seahawks running game, and Eagles’ propensity to score, Baldwin should get his volume, but again, just wanted your opinion with this new report out about Brown’s toe injury.

I’d go with Landry, as he has the highest floor and a very good ceiling. Booker is intriguing, but the risk is too great that he takes a goose egg. If you are looking for the HR swing, then he’s the choice (but I’d go Landry)